Woman arrested at Luton Airport over alleged terror offences

A NORTH London woman was arrested at Luton Airport today on suspicion of Syria-related terror offences, police have said.

A woman was today arrested as she returned to the UK via Luton Airport

Detectives from the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit detained the 25-year-old as she left a flight returning to the UK from Istanbul, in Turkey.

The woman, from Haringey, was arrested at around 11.30am as part of a continuing intelligence-led policing operation.

She is being held at a police station in the West Midlands on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism.

The terror threat level in the UK was raised from substantial to severe earlier this year.

The move was made against a backdrop of increasing concerns over hundreds of aspiring British jihadis travelling to Iraq and Syria to learn terrorist "tradecraft".

Fears of a terrorist attack on Britain's streets have heightened in the wake of the rise of Islamic State (IS).

The extremist group has taken over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria and attracted thousands of foreign jihadists to its cause, including more than 500 Britons.

A new Counter-terrorism and Security Bill, containing a range of draconian powers including new orders that can block suspected British fighters from returning to the UK, was introduced to Parliament this year.